“Stop causing a scene,” Louella hissed, putting her hood back up and pulling me off to the side. She left Mina to hold Samson’s hand, the two smallest children staring at their surroundings like startled puppies.
“Sorry, I’m just struggling to figure out how the heck you’re alive?”
She sighed and glanced at the two little kids. “I’m a Regen. I didn’t know what it was called before, but Katherine told me that’s what I am,” she explained quietly. “When the Ryder twins came after me, they trapped me in a magical snare. Only my leg and my arm were caught in the trap, so I shed them and made a run for it. I can regrow limbs at will and repair my body quickly. Not my head, though. If they took that, I’d be dead.”
“Like a gecko?”
“Why does everyone say that?” she muttered. “Yes, like a gecko. I can shed limbs when I’m under threat.”
“That’s incredible,” I replied, recalling how rare that ability was. In fact, if I remembered rightly, it had been on the list of obsolete abilities. Looks like we’ve both got ourselves a few unusual powers in our veins, Louella.
“Believe me, it’s not as cool as it sounds. It can happen at the worst possible moments. An ex-boyfriend almost died of a heart attack when he reached for my hand while we were walking, and it just dropped off. He startled me, that’s all. Try explaining that away as an April Fools’ joke in the middle of July. Earned my weirdo badge then...”
I smiled at her. “Been there, done that, got several T-shirts.”
“Really?” She looked surprised.
“Hey, I’ve been called every name under the sun. High school is a bitch, at the best of times. It’s even worse when you’re one of us, and I don’t just mean a magical. Foster kids like you and me have it harder than most. Catnip for bullies.”
A hint of a grin turned up the corners of her lips. “Tell me about it.”
I gestured for her to start walking, the rest of the Rag Team leading the kids toward the prison corridor. “I mean, you’d think they’d give us a manual or something, to make it easier. Adding magical abilities to the foster mix is a damn nightmare. One time, I flung a crush across a classroom with my Telekinesis—he was out of school for a week with a concussion. As you can imagine, I didn’t get invited to the junior prom that year.”
She chuckled. “What’s your name?”
“Harley Merlin—pleased to meet you.” I stuck out my hand and shook hers, the two of us laughing at the formality of it. The break in tension was nice, though I knew I had to ruin it with more questions. “So, how did you end up getting caught, if you managed to get away from the Ryders?”
“Katherine had her minions everywhere.” Her expression darkened. “I managed to stay hidden for a couple of days, but one of her team caught me on my way out to get food. It was late, like three in the morning, and I was stupid enough to think that nighttime would give me some kind of cover. He’d been waiting for me to come out. He grabbed me before I could run, tying my whole body in this glowing rope thing so I couldn’t shed and get away from him. He threw me in the trunk of his car and took me to this old ranch in the hills. That’s where Katherine was keeping us, before we were taken to the old ferry port.”
“Do you know who this guy was?”
She nodded. “Kenneth Willow. A freaking traitor. That scumbag has one hell of a superiority complex—struts about the place like a puffed-up peacock, thinking he’s the big ‘I am.’ He wants to be Katherine’s right-hand man, but he’s just an idiot. He kept trying to make moves on me, but the Regen thing comes in handy when you don’t want to be touched. In the end, I freaked him out enough to get him to stop. Plus, Katherine said she’d sear his balls off with a molten-hot spoon if he got too close to me again. Turns out she’s not a big fan of guys in general, though that hasn’t stopped him from trying.”
I frowned. “Really?”
“Yeah, from what I could see, most of her associates are women. The ones in her inner circle, anyway.”
“Hey, wait up!” one of the security guards called, making us stop at the doorway through to Kid City. “There’s one more car coming.”
Another SUV pulled up outside. I glanced over Louella’s shoulder, my heart racing in anticipation. Please let it be Andrew and Denzel… Come on, let them all be safe. An officer got out of the passenger side and walked around to the rear door. Another came around the back of the car, holding what looked like a shock stick in his hands. Confused, I waited for them to open the door. Why did they need a shock stick for the kids?
My confusion increased as they dragged a figure from the backseat. Now, I understood—this was no kid, but Kenneth Willow himself. The two officers manhandled him toward the front doors of the Fleet Science Center, his face twisted up in a mask of rage as he thrashed against them. With a pair of Atomic Cuffs on his wrists, he couldn’t do a thing about it.
How does it feel to be powerless, Kenneth? How does it feel to have your freedom taken away? He’d done the same to these kids, and I would never forgive him for that. His foster parents had almost died because of his actions, and many more hadn’t made it. He wasn’t wriggling free of this one, not if I had anything to do with it.
His scowl deepened as our eyes locked. “You!” he spat.
“Me,” I replied.
“Katherine will see you all burn for this!”
What, no ‘Katie’? You too inferior in her ranks for that?
“You’re in no position to make threats,” I said calmly.
“The Cult of Eris will come for all of you, and our almighty Goddess will raze you and every single place like this to the ground. She will make you beg for your lives, and she will take them anyway. She is the Goddess of Discord. She will bring a new world order, and not one of you will be worthy of a place in it.”
I smiled at him. “The Cult of Eris? Sounds like a bad B-movie.”
“We are almighty!” he howled, shaking his shoulder so his shirt slipped to the side. Bang in the center of his chest, nestled into his bare skin, was a golden tattoo. The flesh around it was scarred and livid, bringing a sudden, horrible realization: Katherine had poured molten gold onto his skin to form this mark. I peered closer, noting the intricate patterns that feathered and whorled into the shape of an apple, reminding me of aboriginal drawings—dots and lines and curves creating an overall picture. The metal and the flesh had combined to make this horribly beautiful image.
“An apple?” Was this some Garden of Eden, start-of-the-world stuff? It didn’t fit with Katherine’s Grecian aesthetic.
“The Apple of Discord,” Astrid said, appearing at my side. “It’s long been linked to the Goddess Eris. I read about it a while ago, when I was researching the Children of Chaos. It’s been a long-held belief that, although we only know about Gaia and her four children, there are actually more Children than that. Eris has often been mentioned as one. The Greek gods especially used to take a lot of their influence from these Children. I didn’t think it would have any relevance then, but now… I guess she’s using it as her emblem.”
“Has she done this to you, too?” I glanced at Louella.
She shook her head. “We hadn’t been initiated yet.”
“Thank God,” I muttered, imagining these kids having to suffer through that.
“You would’ve never been initiated,” Kenneth hissed. “You’re scum! You deserve everything that’s coming to you. Once our Goddess reaches the pinnacle of her power, you’re all screwed. She will watch you all burn, and she’ll laugh as the light goes out in your eyes!”
“Enough!” I roared, getting nose-to-nose with Kenneth. “You don’t get to say another word unless we allow it! Do you understand?”
“Just try and silence me,” he leered.
I smiled at him icily. “Oh, I’m the last person you want to try your luck with, Kenneth.” I looked at the guards who held him. “Take him to Alton. Make sure he gets put in a secure room, away from the others. I don’t want him to see daylight until he’s
ready to tell us everything he knows about Katherine and her cult,” I said, then shifted my focus back on Kenneth. “Nobody is coming to save you. Katherine left her own son to rot in a prison cell—do you really think she’ll lift a finger to help you?”
A look of confusion passed across his face. “Liar.”
“Nope.”
“Her son was a coward. A defector.”
“Wrong again. He did everything she asked, obeyed her to the letter, and she left him with a life sentence in Purgatory. He’s still there now, adamant that she’s coming to break him out. It’s like I told him—don’t expect a wrecking ball to come crashing through the wall. Katherine will leave you to rot, same as him.”
He fell silent, his brow furrowed.
Good—it’s about time you understood what Katherine is really like.
As the guards led Kenneth away, his shoulders slumped, his arms no longer thrashing about, I returned my attention to Louella and the other kids. They were looking at me with a mixture of fear and awe, Samson’s mouth wide open in shock. Even Wade seemed stunned by my outburst, a small smile playing on his lips.
“Ay-ay, Harley, I thought you were going to rip his head off!” Santana said with a stilted laugh. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he leaves a puddle behind.”
I shrugged. “He needed to understand what kind of mess he’s gotten himself into.”
“Nice job, Merlin,” Dylan commended.
“You sure you don’t have a secret Dark side in there?” Raffe added, with a knowing grin. But his words sent a cold shiver through my body. Was that why I lashed out like that? Was my Darkness seeping through already? I didn’t have much of a temper, but Santana was right—I’d nearly ripped Kenneth’s head off. I looked down at my altered Esprit and shuddered. This couldn’t be happening now. I needed more time to get everything in balance.
“Come on, let’s get these kids somewhere safe,” I said, shoving the thought away. That’s right, everyone, looks like Miss Nice has left the building. I just hoped I could find a way to bring her back.
Sixteen
Astrid
Alton had allowed the children time to settle in of their own accord, giving them chaperones in the form of a small squadron of security personnel. It unsettled me to think of them below ground, in the subterranean depths of the coven, but I supposed it was the safest place for them to be. Not that it would bring them much comfort. Prison cells were prison cells, no matter how they were gussied up with nice bedding and welcoming furniture, which the security staff had provided, courtesy of Director Waterhouse. I doubted they’d ever be able to “settle in” under these circumstances.
The following morning, Wade and Santana took over interrogational duties with Kenneth Willow. Harley had pleaded with Alton to be allowed to conduct the interview, but he’d forbidden it. Her impulsive reactions the previous night had been relayed to him by the guards, and he’d decided it’d be a bad idea to let her anywhere near Kenneth. I happened to agree with him, though it might’ve been useful to have a startling presence in there, to get him to talk. Harley had certainly proven that she had a streak of terror in her. I often wished I could come across as gutsy as she was, but my fiery persona needed a great deal of work, considering it was more or less nonexistent.
Quetzi was still at large, though Smartie hadn’t picked up any sign of the evasive serpent. And so, with the fang in hand, I decided to visit my mom at Cabot’s in Waterfront Park, to see if she could assist in the investigation. I’d told Harley I would run it through a Smartie-connected mass spectrometer, but I didn’t get much out of it. I’d also run a tracking scenario on it via Smartie, to see if it might be possible for one of the others to put a spell on it, but it had come back as ‘unviable.’ It was definitely getting stranger, but I wasn’t ready to give up. If at first, and all that. Smartie was an exceptional piece of technology, whom I adored heart and soul, but he couldn’t replace a sharp mind like my mom’s. She knew an awful lot about ancient beasts, from all her years in the industry, and I hoped her expertise might come in handy.
Something still felt wrong about Quetzi’s involvement in Adley’s murder. Everyone else seemed sure he was responsible, but I doubted that. Even in the good old days of his reign of godliness, flagrant murder had never been his modus operandi. He was much more devious and creative than that. Indeed, I was becoming more convinced that all of this was a setup, in order to remove the proverbial heat from someone else. I wasn’t entirely certain, as thinking in absolutes tended to make a fool out of people, but my mom was wiser than me—in fact, despite her lack of Chaos abilities, she was far smarter than most magicals. Alton included.
“I’m very sorry to hear that,” Mom said, as I relayed the previous day’s tragedy to her. We were sitting in the corner, drinking tea. I didn’t go into detail; I just told her that Adley had been found dead after a supposed encounter with Quetzi. It still pained me to talk about it so bluntly, but there was little time to waste with the feathered serpent still loose. Adley had always been kind to me and a constant feature of my reparative years at the coven. Sometimes, when my dad and I had one of our disputes, she used to let me sit in the infirmary until the dust settled. I always stole sweets from her candy jar, and she always pretended not to notice. My one rebellion.
“We’re all still reeling,” I replied. “She might’ve been a prisoner, but she was well-loved before she got mixed up with Finch. I know Alton is finding it hard to deal with. I think he blames himself. If he’d sent her on to Purgatory, or put her somewhere more secure, this might not have happened.”
My mom smiled sadly. “He always took things harder than most folks. It’s still weird to hear you call him ‘Alton,’ though. Have you two argued or something? Normally, you’ll at least give him a ‘father’ or two.”
I dropped my gaze. “He hates Garrett, that’s all. We were on a date the other day and he stormed in and interrupted it. We argued a bit after that, about the usual stuff—the body cams, the Shapeshifters… you.”
“Me?”
“Well, more his romantic history. I know I shouldn’t use the past against him, Mom, but he’d riled me up so much, I couldn’t help it. Before I knew what was happening, the words were spilling out of my mouth.”
She rested her hand on mine. “I know our situation is hard for you sometimes, Astrid, but you can’t let your anger take over. He made his mistakes, but he’s also made amends for them. He could have abandoned me, pregnant and alone, but he didn’t. And yes, he could be a bit… warmer at times, but he still loves you. There’s no use in bearing grudges, not when it won’t change anything.” Her amber eyes sparkled with warmth, her voice like honey.
Everyone always commented on how closely we resembled one another, though her skin was a deeper shade of ebony than mine, her hair coiffed in a perfect afro that made her look like an African queen. There were hints of Spanish in her features too, which came from my grandmother. However, nobody ever saw any of Alton in my face, which was probably a fortuitous thing since we were keeping our familial ties a secret. Saying that, I knew it disappointed him sometimes, that he couldn’t see any of himself in my features. It was evolutionary, that a father should see a hint of his DNA in the face of his offspring. A simple, human necessity, which I had failed to provide him with.
Plus, I knew he was disappointed that I hadn’t ended up with any magical ability whatsoever. He’d likely been hoping for a magical child whom he could teach and train, the way he’d been taught by his parents. With children of half-magic, half-human origin, the genetic odds of becoming magical were the same as ending up with red hair—sometimes it happened and sometimes it didn’t. I just hadn’t gained the rare gene from my father that would’ve given me a bit of magical prowess. No red hair for me, metaphorically speaking.
“I know. I didn’t mean to bring his past into it, and I didn’t mean to bring up the fact that he hadn’t been very dad-like, but he made me so mad,” I said. “It’s not as if he can give me ad
vice on romance, not when he’s left a trail of broken hearts behind him.”
My mom chuckled. “I wouldn’t call it a trail, Astrid. A few, maybe. My own, not really—sometimes, people just aren’t meant to be. Anyway, what he lacks in romantic capability, he more than makes up for in loyalty to his coven, and to you. He was always resolute in that, even when it seemed like he’d disappeared. We both made the decision for you to live at the coven, because he realized he was messing up, and he didn’t want to be an absentee father.”
“I still can’t understand how you can be so laid-back about him. You always put a positive spin on everything. Seriously, it’s like a talent.”
“I’ve learned to be very Zen,” she replied, her tone amused. “Anyway, it’s not as though I can get away from him, even if I wanted to. Which I don’t, I should add. He’s always calling me up and asking me for favors from the wonderful world of artifacts. Plus, he’ll always be your dad. There’s no reason not to be civil, when nobody has done anything wrong. It wasn’t as easy to understand back then, and it wounded my pride a bit, but he fell in love with Isabel. Totally, totally in love. It was like a freight train that couldn’t be stopped. Yes, in those early days when he first told me about her, I felt sad that he hadn’t loved me that way, but I was mature enough to see that we would never have worked out. We’d have made each other miserable.”
She took a slow breath, as though remembering that brief moment of pain. “See, there was a time, just after you were born, when I asked him to stay. I didn’t love him, and he didn’t love me, but I was so scared, I didn’t feel like I could do any of it on my own. We stayed together for a few more months, and I thought it’d get better over time. It didn’t, and it was me who realized that it’d be easier for both of us if I let go, before anyone had the chance to get hurt. Now, like I said, it hurt my pride when he started dating Isabel, and I panicked that he’d up and leave us. Fortunately for him, it was true love, and Isabel became a part of who we are as a family—she made that happen, as much as he did. They have the kind of love that we’d never shared, not even at the beginning.”
Harley Merlin 4: Harley Merlin and the First Ritual Page 18